Dear Friend,

Mark your calendar for the third annual New Year/New Plays Festival, which runs from Wednesday, January 6 – Sunday, January 10. Although we won’t be able to gather in the theatre for what has quickly become a very popular event, we’re pleased that we can bring the Festival into your home via Zoom for free. Reservations are available now.

You may be wondering why the 2021 Festival will take place over five days instead of the usual three. We’re still going to be reading five plays, but watching virtually is very different from watching in person, and because you’ll be sitting in front of a computer, we think it will be a more pleasurable experience – more festive, if you will – to view a play a day.



A bit below, you’ll find the schedule and the description of each play. We will, as always, be soliciting your feedback following each reading, as your thoughts and reactions are valuable to the playwrights as they continue to polish their work. As we’ve done in the previous two festivals, we’ll be presenting a discussion on Saturday afternoon. We’ll provide the details at a later date.

We also want to remind you to check out this week’s Dramalogue: Talking Theatre! at 7:30pm on Friday, when the guest will be Gary Cadwallader, our extraordinary director of education and community engagement.

Diane and Mark Perlberg are the executive producers of the New Year/New Plays Festival. Sandra and Bernie Meyer are the associate producers. Dramalogue is sponsored by Marlene and Martin Silver. PBDonline is sponsored by Louise and Barry Snyder. Tickets to all events are free, but reservations are required. Visit palmbeachdramaworks.org or call the box office at 561.514.4042, x2. And donations to PBD are always welcome. 
By Catherine Bush
Wednesday, January 6 at 7:30pm
When Civil War reenactor Curtis Jenkins is accused of being racist, he begins a fantastical journey through American race relations. As the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally explodes into violence, Curtis must confront the truth about his family legacy and his own beliefs.

THE SUREST POISON
By Kristin Idaszak
Thursday, January 7 at 7:30pm
It’s the era of Prohibition, and Alexander Gettler, a chemist whose research helped create the field of forensic toxicology, must try to catch a murderer and convince the federal government to stop poisoning alcohol. Inspired by the real-life work of Gettler and journalist Lois Long.

DOROTHY’S DICTIONARY
By E.M. Lewis
Friday, January 8 at 7:30pm
After a violent incident at his high school, Zan is forced to choose between juvenile detention and community service. But when he is assigned to read to Dorothy, a librarian who has just entered hospice care, neither of them is sure he's made the right decision.

TWENTY-TWO
By Erin Considine
Saturday, January 9 at 7:30pm
We lose 22 veterans daily to suicide, 22 men and women who survived combat but return home broken. The play follows one man and one woman affected by this unspeakable choice, and the hope they find in each other.

THE PREY
By Gina Montet
Sunday, January 10 at 2:00pm
A tale of beauty, love, and murder in the heart of the Everglades. Set in 1912 and inspired by actual events, the play is a chilling interpretation of one of Florida’s most notorious killings.

There will also be a discussion, TBD, at noon on Saturday, January 9.

Stay safe!
GUEST:
GARY CADWALLADER
DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR PBD

INTERVIEWED BY:
WILLIAM HAYES, PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Gary Cadwallader has been the director of education and community engagement at PBD since 2016. He created PBD's One Humanity Tour program, the Young Playwrights Ten-Minute Play Contest, TheAcademy@pbd, Dramawise, and more. As an actor, Gary has appeared at PBD in 1776 (John Adams) and Arcadia (Captain Brice). He has performed and directed around the country: highlights include Inherit the Wind (Hornbeck) at Northern Stage; Kabuki Medea, M. Butterfly, and The Great Gatsby at Chicago's Wisdom Bridge Theater; the Emcee in the national tour of Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story; and roles at ZACH Theatre and Live Oak Theatre in Austin, and Clock Tower Theatre in Rockford. Film and TV: A League of Their Own, The New Untouchables, and numerous national commercials. He has a BA in theatre from St. Edward's University, and an MFA in acting from Western Illinois University. Gary is the president of Florida Theatre Conference, and is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and AEA.
To view the past Dramalogue: Talking Theatre! programs including recent guests

Bruce Linser
John Leonard Thompson
Michael Amico
Patti Gardner
Dennis Creaghan
Terry Teachout
Lynn Nottage